Caught by Surprise: Causes and Consequences of the Helium-3 Supply Crisis (Part 2 of 2) скачать в хорошем качестве

Caught by Surprise: Causes and Consequences of the Helium-3 Supply Crisis (Part 2 of 2)

Caught by Surprise: Causes and Consequences of the Helium-3 Supply Crisis (Part 2 of 2) - mars-4:hrs04SCI2318_100422b - Rayburn 2318 - Committee on Scence, Space, and Technology - 2010-04-22 - The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight meets on April 22, 2010, to examine the causes and consequences of the Helium-3 supply crisis. Helium-3 (He-3) is a rare, nonradioactive gas that has been produced in both the United States and Russia as a by-product of nuclear weapons development. Tritium, which helps boost the yield of nuclear weapons, decays into Helium-3 gas after approximately 12 years. The gas was produced as a consequence of tritium production by the defense programs of the Department of Energy (DOE). As a valuable commodity, it was packaged, managed and sold through DOE's Isotope Program in the Office of Nuclear Energy (though the Isotope program was moved to the Office of Science in a reorganization during FY2009).